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Processional (Use of Dominican Nuns)

North German (Medingen?)
Medieval (Gothic)
mid-15th century
Place of Manufacture: Medingen?, Germany

Medium/Technique Tempera and ink on parchment; bindings of deerskin over boards
Dimensions Overall (page dimensions): 18.9 x 13.8 cm (7 7/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
Other (writing space): 11.8 x 8.8 cm (4 5/8 x 3 7/16 in.)
Credit Line Denman Waldo Ross Collection
Accession Number07.77
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope

DescriptionProcessional for use by the Dominican order, with 82 folios (ff.) and 2 leaves:

f. 1 - 1v: Originally blank, mid-15th century inscription added slightly later, "Pro sorore DK"
f. 1v: Originally blank, mid-15th century inscription, "Das puch gehort in das closter zu medingen prediger ordens"
ff. 2 - 80: Processional
(ff. 2 - 12: Palm Sunday)
(ff. 12 - 36v: Maundy Thursday (with antiphons "ad altare" for altars of the Virgin Mary, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Nicholas, St. Augustine, and the Cross))
(ff. 36v - 39: Good Friday)
(ff. 39 - 42: Easter)
(ff. 42 - 46: Ascension)
(ff. 46 - 50v: Corpus Christi)
(ff. 50v - 55: Dedication of the Church)
(ff. 55 - 60v: Purification)
(ff. 60v - 66: Assumption)
(ff. 66 - 69: Reception of Legates or Prelates)
(ff. 69 - 71v: Reception of Secular Princes)
(ff. 71v - 73: "Per totam ebdomadam")
(ff. 73 - 76: "Die 3 im 5 vor dem altar")
(ff. 76 - 80: "Commonem processionem pro necessaria ecclesiae")
f. 80v: [blank]

Each page contains 1 column with 5 staves or 17 lines of text in Latin (with some German). Bounding lines in black ink, double-fillet, full-length to top and bottom, writing lines in black ink for top and bottom of each text line, prickings preserved for bounding and writing lines. Square stemmatic notation on a four-line red staff, c-clef indicated.

(ff. 43 and 48 are tipped-in singletons). Correction slip tipped-in between ff. 64 and 65. Quires signed in first half only as "a i" - "a iv"… "h i" - "h iv," mostly trimmed away.

Written by a single scribe in a Gothic textura in black ink with red rubrics. f. 1: three-staff high initial "P" in blue and red with red infill and filigree; one-staff high initials throughout in black with red filigree or red; some filigree from descenders of lowest writing line in lower margin in black and/or red.

Binding: Original deerskin with floral stamps over boards, upper clasp, band, and both clasp nails extant, braided blue and white endbands, pastedowns printed (possibly from incunables), front binding stays from a German scholastic manuscript from the second half of the thirteenth century scholastic manuscript, and rear binding stay from a German monastic Bible, from the second half of the 12th century, preserving Psalm 140:2-9.




Inscriptionsf. 1: a mid-15th century inscription, "Pro sorore DK"
f. 1v: a mid-15th century inscription, "Das puch gehort in das closter zu medingen prediger ordens"
ProvenanceMid-15th century, the library of the Dominican nuns of St. Mary's in Medingen [see inscription f. 1v]. Mid-15th century, Sister D.K. [see inscription f. 1]. By 1907, with Dr. Denman W. Ross (1853-1935), Cambridge, MA; 1907, gift of Dr. Denman W. Ross. (Accession date: February 14, 1907)